Studying Abroad in Lisbon, Portugal

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm completing an internship here in Lisbon, in addition to my classes. When I first heard of the opportunity to earn credits that count towards to my major that did not include listening to lectures, I jumped on it. One thing led to another, and now I find myself interning at the Fulbright Commission.  Essentially, the Fulbright commission is an organization with the goal of building relationships between the United States and Portugal by means of education. This includes providing scholarship and opportunities for educators and students to teach and study in the other country. My role at the Fulbright commission is to help with a specific program that it offers, called the Competitive College Club. This program assists Portuguese high schoolers with the process of applying to universities in the United States. I assist with pres...

Although it may come as surprise, studying abroad does not only consist of traveling and gaining weight. Technically, I am here to study, so here is a description of the classes I am taking: 1) Gramática Portuguesa  This course focuses on identifying the different components of Portuguese grammar and the different characteristics of sounds, words, and phrases. The class is split up into six different parts: grammar, phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. So far I've gotten halfway through the unit of morphology and I've come to the conclusion that this class is the hardest of all the classes I'm taking. Since it's about all new concepts regarding the Portuguese language (that haven't even studied in the english language), it can be a bit frustrating to understand. I find myself rereading my notes constantly, in class and out of class, to make sure I am following along with all the new material. Regardless, I'm loving the experience of doin...

Depois de um mês de estar em Portugal sem ver a minha família, o meu irmão e o meu tio vieram vistar-me e fomos  à vila onde os meus avós cresceram. Em Soajo, ficamos na casa deles (shoutout to my avós having a literal mansion) e passamos a semana de Carnaval a ver todo lá. No primeiro dia da manhã, fui ao poço negro, um lago muito conhecido pelas pessoas de Soajo como um lugar de descanso. Os habitantes e as turistas normalmente passam o seu tempo lá a bronzear ou nadar no lago. Até tem um balanço de corda onde as pessoas corajosas podem pular fora da monte e balançar encima da agua, eventualmente a cair dentro-a.  Além disso, vimos os espigueiros, umas das coisas mais populares em Soajo. Os espigueiros são estruturas que os aldeões usavam para armazenar milho durante que o secava. Normalmente estas estruturas são construídas de pedra e madeira, mas o facto mais interessante é que muitos dos espigueiros foram construídas no sé...

Like many other people that study abroad in Europe, I plan to visit all the surrounding countries to the one I'm staying in. But before I travel internationally, I want to experience Portugal itself for all that it is. This includes visiting as many places and monuments to help me grasp the essence of what Portugal is.  Once I officially settled my class and internship schedule (since I guess I'm technically here to study as well), I started developing a plan of how to tackle all that is Portugal. Having already visited much of Lisbon, it was only logically to visit the next largest city: Porto.  Day #1: Porto Before I knew it, (and after a few clicks on the computer) I was stepping off the bus into a brand new city. Although a nice shower and fresh bed sheets would have definitely been appealing after the long, uncomfortable and stuffy bus ride, 2 days and 1 night to see an entire city did not allot time for it, ...

A vista da minha secretária   Ontem eu estava sentado na minha secretaria a pesquisar as minhas aulas para este semestre, com os  pássaros a cantar fora da janela, quando eu percebi que a minha vida cá em Lisboa é real. Nesta primeira semana inteira, eu sentia que eu estava dentro dum sonho e que de repente o ia acabar e voltava para a minha vida em Rhode Island. Mas, isso ainda não aconteceu, então cá ficarei! Como as aulas só começavam uma semana depois da minha chegada, e eu tinha um cartão do metro infinito, Lisboa estava disponível para a minha exploração no meio dos encontros de orientação. Eu e os meus amigos novos (que são estudantes também com SIPN) fomos à Feira de Ladra que era um tipo de feira que vende muitas coisas variadas, então no meu primeiro dia explorando Lisboa, gastei 100 euros em knick-knacks e decorações para devolver ao meu apartamento e fazé-lo mais vibrante e português. Mosteiro de Jerónimos Também, fomos ao...

It's the day before my fight to Lisbon and I find myself curled up in my bed questioning if studying abroad was the right decision.  ❝Am I really ready to leave my home, my family and friends, and everything I know to fly to a country in which I don't know anyone?❞ Well, the answer is no, but when can anyone ever be prepared to do something like this? Part of the adventure and excitement lies in the action of seeing out into the unknown. Who could have predicted that I would even have an opportunity like this anyways? Furthermore, this is really something that you can't mentally prepare yourself for.  Then what do I do with all this nervousness and anxiety that I'm feeling? Well, as I learned from my favorite philosophical show, The Amazing World of Gumball...  ❝When life gives you lemons, you squeeze them back into life's eyes!❞  Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that you have to take that nervous/negative energy, burn it, and let positive vibes an...

Me trying to look cute Hello everyone! My name is Joshua Abreu and I'm a Junior at Rhode Island College. I'm majoring in World Language Education with a Concentration in Portuguese and minoring in Spanish. I live in East Providence with three siblings (one older and two younger)and my parents. My family is very tight-knit and close since all of my siblings and I are close in age and we were homeschooled at the same point. Furthermore, we were forced to get along since we couldn't get away from each other. My parents immigrated to the states from Portugal with all of my grandparents and they began a new life here. Essentially, my siblings and I are first-generation Americans, but we've always identified ourselves as "Portuguese people who were just born in the wrong country". Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm used to there always being Caldo Verde in the fridge and having my house decorated with countless Galos de Barcelos. Galo de B...